Cornerstone PLUS

Please take your seats. And, up on the screen will be a collect of readings, which we'll read as we're going through as Pete said. But before we start, let me pray. Father we do thank you for your word. We thank you that your word is powerful.

We're gathered here because we we want to hear from you, not because we just want to, catch up on news and meet up with friends. We want to hear the living word of god, and we pray lord that you will speak to each 1 of us and challenge us and remind us of your wonderful truths. Or assist us by your Holy Spirit this morning. We pray. Amen.

Well, just over 7 years ago, as you are now aware, the bruins has arrived. It was February. I think February, 7 years, over 7 years ago. We arrived in Kingston, and I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that we have been thrilled to be part of the church family here at Corner It's been it's been a really wonderful 7 years. We might be slightly biased, but no, and no, you know, no church is perfect because every church is basically just a collection of sinners sitting on plastic chairs, usually, redeemed sinners But having been on staff now at 4 different churches and actively involved in others as well, I believe that Cornerstone is a brilliant and rare gem of a local church.

And I think you should see that too. Maybe I can persuade you a little bit this morning So, but if you are new here, if you're wondering and you've been maybe coming for a few weeks wondering shall I throw my lot in with this, this lot of people? Cornerstone. I would want to say to you commit. Why why would you why would you not?

Commit. This is a church known for faithful bible teaching. Nonstop hospitality, a church of diverse ages, and backgrounds, a church that takes seriously Jesus' command to go to all the nations and preach the gospel. And if you commit to Cornerstone church, you make that decision, I can assure you you will thrive here. I think it is a wonderful church.

And this is my last chance to address you all before I leave. So in preparation, I had to think back over the last few years and reconsider my time here and it's been good doing that actually, some lovely, lovely memories. When I arrived at Cornerstone Church, we were in the first hub building on the marketplace in Kingston. And the staff back then was just Pete and myself and Anthony Dines, doing the, the administration. And then Tom came on board in the summer as an apprentice along with Laura who didn't last for very long at all for reasons.

And it soon became apparent that the team that I had joined was very different from ones I'd worked in before. Very different. I would love to tell you some of the things I wanted to do a talk this morning about. What really goes on at the hub? But I can actually see right now Pete twitching.

So I won't do that, but working for course that has been great fun and very exciting. I've really enjoyed it. And it why why it's a joy is because it is always a joy to work with colleagues who are passionate about the gospel, about getting the gospel heard. And I can say with no reservation, that is true of the team at Cornerstone Church. They're about the proclamation of the gospel.

And so briefly this morning, I want to share 3 lessons I learned at Cornerstone. 3 lessons I hope that I will never forget and I hope that they will influence my ministry as I as I go to Chesterfield. And they are just 3 from many possible things that I could share that are equally important. Okay? There's nothing over the top important about these, but they are important.

They are 3 things that have particularly struck me over the last few years. And what's more, the interesting thing is as I thought them through, they all teach essentially 1 both as well, which is which is great. So I wanna share these things and I wanna share these things not just to to give you all a pat on the back, to give us a pat on the back. That's not the point. But rather in the hopes that these things will challenge you not to forget them, not to stop doing the few maybe good things that we are doing and have done over the years.

Please don't stop. Don't stop doing these things. For example, Cornerstone is great at hospitality. Why do I say that? Because we just never stop eating together, do we?

But if it wasn't organized, think about this. If it wasn't actually organized, would you still be doing it? Maybe some of you would, but be honest. If bringing a share lunches were not put in the diary and sent by email, to you before they happened. If no 1 administrated the guess who's coming for lunch, if no 1 made a rotor for hub lunches, would you take the initiative yourself?

Has it got down into your DNA? Because those are great things that we do. If you weren't nagged, to use a harsh word, really, would you actively seek to draw in newcomers when you saw them? Would you be on the lookout for people who seem to be on the fringe of things and trying all the time to bring them in to include them. See, it's very easy to lose that stuff actually to go cold because we tend to always look inwards, don't we to ourselves?

And and there's a there's a human tendency to wanna take the path of least resistance to put yourself out the least, to think of yourself, unless we keep reminding ourselves of these things. So 3 lessons learned at Cornerstone from many. Okay, from many lessons, 3 things. First 1 is this and, you'll need to get your bibles out if you haven't already. And the first 1 is this.

It's to train. Train for the race. Train for the battle. That's 1 thing that's really struck me at Cornerstone. Open your bibles to 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy chapter 2, it's on page 1195. And here we see Paul, the apostle. He is writing to Timothy his younger apprentice who has learned from him probably for many, many years. It's a tender letter from like a father figure to a son figure. Really cares about him, really cares about the ministry.

Listen to what he says at the beginning of chapter 2. You then, my son, Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses and trust reliable people who will be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering like a good soldier for Christ Jesus. No 1 serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victim's crown, except by competing according to the Raults. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops reflect on what I am saying. For the lord, we'll give you insight into all this. Now when I first arrived at Cornerstone Church, there were 2 meetings that particularly blew me away. The first was the monthly prayer meeting.

So we met in a, what can only be described as an inadequate room. At the old hub, but we could squeeze 50 seats in there with for some reason had the most ridiculously huge seats heavy things, didn't we? Massive seats in in the hub, and I just come from a a church with a congregation of about 300 people on a Sunday or more And the monthly prayer meeting would have rattled around in that room. But Cornerstone, in those days with a congregation, maybe on a Sunday morning of perhaps a hundred people. Just piled into the room, made a real impression on me.

There were people sitting on the floor, if necessary, and standing at the door. And I thought to myself, this is a church that believes in prayer. Terrific. Surely God will bless us when we're intentional about bringing our requests to him. Yeah?

Now don't lose that, by the way. That's brilliant. And was perhaps, you know, easier back then in those days before everyone started having babies left right and center. Most of you didn't have church didn't have children. So getting to church was easy.

You could just, you know, down tools and head off to the prayer meeting. And I want to just say to all of those of you who have growing families, actually, please try not to lose that enthusiasm for prayer. Think through together as a couple, how you can as a family stay committed to the prayer meeting, even if it means just taking turns and going there, 1 doing childcare, Don't take any of those easy routes out to think like, oh, we got so many kids and, you know, we'll just stay home. Don't do that. Get to the prayer meeting.

Don't lose that. It's terrific. But the second meeting, I don't wanna, you know, that's just a side point, but it's very important. The second meeting that surprised me was Fight Club. I'd never seen anything quite like Fight Club anywhere I've been before, not not done by a local church.

The idea behind Fight Club, if you're unaware, and it still is the idea, is to train and equip the men of Cornerstone Church to take responsibility in church. That's the whole idea behind it, particularly in teaching the Bible to others. Now why is that so great? Well, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, what we just read, if you look at it, You have the the apostle Paul's instructions to his son in the faith, Timothy, my son. And here, Paul is downloading crucial advice to his former apprentice about how A to stand firm in his faith and b how to perform duties as an overseer of the church in Ephasis, a large area.

And many believe these are the last words we have recorded that Paul wrote. We don't have anything older than anything more recent than this. So if you get page 1195 open in front of you, it's up on the screen, you'll see just how much those things, this whole idea, the issue of training was on Paul's mind as he writes these words. In chapter 1, if you just dance across at it, Paul is reminding Timothy about the Christian good news that he has staked everything on. Paul's imprisoned at this point.

He is suffering and has suffered greatly, but he says verse 8, he's not ashamed. And neither should Timothy be? Have a look at what he writes in verse 8 or verse 9. He says he shouldn't be ashamed because this good news of is is good news of a savior who has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we've done, but because of his own purpose and grace, the grace this grace was was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time and it has now been revealed through the appearing of our savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. It's a brilliant little endorsement of the gospel right there, isn't it?

What a savior? Do you see that? Jesus is the only savior who personally has destroyed death, who has brought us life and immortality, says Paul. And what's more He saves all who put their trust in him by grace. That means not by doing anything.

So he says it in verse 9, doesn't he? Not any because of anything we've done. It's a free message of salvation, but because of his purposes and grace. Now from for perhaps the last time from this lectin? Friends, I want to commend their behavior to you.

Won't you come to Jesus? Won't you embrace him? Won't you throw your lot in with him? Won't you give your all to him? Paul is such a wonderful endorsement of that, isn't it?

You know, the story of Paul. I mean, here starts a man who is anti the church He's a terrorist. He's responsible. He's the brains, the engine behind trying to eradicate the church. And yet Jesus meets him on the road to Damascus and turns his entire life around.

He goes from a terrorist trying to eradicate the church to a man who is willing to suffer more for the cause of the gospel than pretty much anyone else you read about in in the New Testament. An incredible transformation. He takes this is a gospel that takes the worst of sinners and turns them into a child of god. That's what happened to Paul. And so now he urges Timothy in verse 8 look of chapter 1, join me in suffering for the gospel.

And he talks in verse 11 then about how he Paul has been appointed as a herald of that good news and a teacher of that good news. Now, the clear implication is that Paul's chief purpose was not to just have heard that good news and keep it all to himself. But rather to be wanting desperately wanted to just pass it on to people. Isn't that what Paul's heartbeat is here? To herald it, he says, it's a strong word, isn't it?

Makes you think of those town criers with their bells, don't they? Trying to get everyone's attention. Shout it from the rooftops. And then when you've done that, sit down with those who will listen and teach it to them and train them. And Timothy was 1 of those who listened, who was trained by Paul.

And he continues in verse 13 of chapter 1, says to Timothy what you heard from me. Keep as a pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Timothy, guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you, guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. That's a setting that brings us to the reading we just had now. So have a look at it then.

Verse verse 2 of chapter 2. We read it earlier. Timothy, the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses and trust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Can you see this little chain that Paul has constructed in the passage. Paul has received this wonderful gospel turned his life upside down transformed him utterly.

He passes the teaching of Christ. That good news to Timothy. He sits down with Timothy. He invests time in in in in Timothy. He takes him on trips with him to preach this good news, instructs him thoroughly, and then What does Paul say to Timothy?

Timothy? You gotta invest the same message in find reliable people, he says. And pass it on to them so that they too what's the purpose? They too can then carry that chain on another link. Being qualified to teach others.

I put it to you that that is an indispensable distinctive of a vibrant, healthy, local church. The gospel just keeps on being not just preached not just proclaimed, but entrusted to reliable people. And those reliable people guard that good deposit and pass it on to others. They are really great descriptions actually, aren't they? See fight club and its counterpart also sisters act doing the same sort of thing.

They have for years been trying to seek out what reliable men and women. Reliable men and women. Those who will commit. Those who will take training in god's word seriously It's an important word, isn't it reliable? So that they can guard the wonderful deposit that god has given to us presenting that, that pure, unmest with truth of the gospel to the world.

And also seeking to pass on that task to the next generation of reliable people who will be entrusted with it. Same deposit. Now cornerstone, please don't ever lose that. Keep training. More than that, keep desiring to be trained.

If you are not a reliable person, why not? That means turning up, doesn't it? At the very least, to be reliable, you gotta actually be there. Do what you say you're gonna do and commit to what you say you're gonna commit to. And if you do that, the authentic gospel, which alone is the power of god for the salvation of all who believe will keep on being proclaimed in Kingston and beyond.

So that's the first thing. The training aspect. First lesson I learned, training such a high priority. The second 1 was this. Worded, I've called it the economy of the kingdom.

Now let me explain what that means. And what to do that, let's look at our next reading, which is on page 1 1 4 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 if you're not using 1 of the church bibles. Corinthians chapter 3. Words perhaps we're very familiar with.

Again, Paul writing this time to a a church a congregation and the city of corinth. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 will start reading at verse 5. So Paul's just dealt with some issues, personality, sort of worship issues. And he says this in verse 5. What after all is Apolis?

That is that's that's 1 of the people celebrities people were following. He just says, well, what what is Apolis? What is Paul, he says? Only servants through whom you came to believe as the lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apolus watered it, but god has been making it grow.

So neither the 1 who plants nor the 1 who waters is anything, but only god who makes things grow. The 1 who plants, and the 1 who waters, they have 1 purpose, and they'll be rewarded according to their labor. For we are coworkers in god's service. You are god's field, god's building. Now this was a somewhat strange lesson for me to learn, an unexpected lesson.

But it hit me quite forcefully early on in my ministry here, in Kingston. See, I had never really been 1 for door knocking. Now don't get me wrong. We we don't do a lot of this, but I thought of door knocking as being a, well, I don't know how you think of it, a bit of an invasion of privacy because we are that kind of culture and we don't like unexpected people knocking on our doors, do we? It's something that seemed to always belong to the realm of the Jehovah's Witness and the mormont, wasn't it?

And I figured that most people would be pretty annoyed I wandered up to their door, disturbed them, uninvited and tried to talk to them about Jesus. And quite often, they were pretty annoyed about that. I remembered, my old neighbor, Alan, back in, in Liverpool who used to get really worked up when Jehovah's Witnesses came. You'd hear him sitting in your lounge. Next door, you could hear him across the neighborhood.

Shouting at them. He would roar across the street and it would be something like this. If you don't get off my doorstep right now I'm gonna take this speed and I'm gonna burst you, which was a sort of introduced introduction to the the raw and visceral form of scouse you could get in our area. And truth, it wasn't that I thought people would be actually violent towards me if I knocked on their door. It was more than I thought to myself that, you know, there must be better and more effective ways to get the gospel at a hearing than knocking on doors.

Haven't we moved on? When we now in an era of Christianity explored courses and such like, you know, much more civilized. But be that as it may, a wonderful sort of unrest had come over us at the hub 1 day and so we decided to get out and knock on a few doors. Why not just give it a go? Get into a few conversations.

And I'm not saying that that experience changed my mind and I came to believe that this is the missing ingredient. We've just been missing this all the time. We should be getting out and knocking on doors. But it was a more positive experience than I expected. The direct impact on Kingston was largely as I had thought it would be.

But something very interesting happened as a result of doing this. When we had a go at things like that, when, you know, we put ourselves out there. When we did something, when we did something just because we were anxious to see the gospel being proclaimed. When we just did it, it seemed to me, and I'm sure of this, god always sent blessing always. And it it may not.

It was usually not the thing that we did that was blessed. That's the interesting thing. But god just kept on and keeps on blessing the Ministry of Cornerstone Church. That's what became apparent. See, no 1 as far as I know was converted on their doorstep don't know, maybe Tom will tell you otherwise, but strangely numbers in homes groups just seemed to start picking up when we did things like that.

Moms started coming to the moms and tots group, no connection whatsoever. Students started to show up at services. It was most peculiar. Why? Because as we just read, it is god who gives the growth.

God gives growth. We labor says, Paul, We and we're supposed to have hearts that are anxious to see god's kingdom grow, aren't we? We we're supposed to desire this this wonderful harvest and we should do, but it is always god who gives the growth. Never forget that. If god didn't grow things, generally, it'd be pretty depressing to be a farmer, wouldn't it?

I mean, it wouldn't matter how much skill you had Really, all you would have at harvest time is a a cloud, nicely plowed field of rotting seeds. That's all you would have. If god didn't, grow things. We don't produce life. God does produce life, abundant life.

And he does it where and when and how he chooses. So you could wait until you have cracked the best evangelistic strategy really nailed it and then executed it perfectly. We could we could do that and see nothing. Unless god breathes life into the spiritually dead opens the spiritually blind eyes. See, evangelism doesn't work like a sausage machine.

Put the ingredients in and turn the handle and out outcome converts. It works according to the economy of god's kingdom. That's how it works. So what did this teach me? It taught me to grow at heart for gospel ministry to develop a restlessness an itch to just go and do something that is really valuable, even even if that thing is just a little bit mad sometimes.

A little bit sort of, well, how's this going to work? But the 1 thing you don't want to do is just sit on your backside and do nothing. So I've found that when we labor, albeit clumsily at times, that is when god sends gospel growth in unexpected places. Now, the brothers took me out, for lunch this week, and they gave me a mug. Like, I'm not I'm gonna be honest.

I don't really understand this mug, but it does have a very nice picture of their faces on it. And it has a personal message to me on the on the river side, which reads, may your leg grow? The brothers. Now, I'm not gonna pretend to really thoroughly understand it, but what I'm gonna choose to do with that mug, okay, I'm gonna choose to do something with that mug as I as I drink from that mug. You know, why didn't they write, may your church grow?

No, may your leg grow. Okay? But as I drink from that, I will choose to let it remind me God gives growth. Okay. In a ridiculously abstract way, may your leg grow.

No. It's god who gave god grows things. And I want to remember that as I move on and I hope that you will remember that too. So yes train train It's great that we train, but also keep laboring. Labour.

And if your zeal has gone cold if it feels like ages since you witnessed to someone, if you're starting to feel that itch, embrace it Have a go. Do something, perhaps a little bit crazy. Something perhaps you imagine probably won't be effective. But do it within reason, of course, don't want to get in trouble here. And then wait to see if god doesn't just bless your efforts or something else.

Be on the lookout for god's blessing. After all, doesn't verse 8, have a look at it, seem to indicate. Really? It's labor that what that will be rewarded. It's not volume of results, is labor.

The 1 who plants and the 1 who waters have 1 purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. Labour. Ultimately, it's not down to having the right ideas or skills or abilities, and that should encourage some, certainly encourages me, but that there is a lord of the harvest and there were simply laborers in the harvest field and that's what you and I are called to be. So that's the second lesson. Third lesson, third and finally, seize opportunities seize opportunities.

The third lesson Learn takes me to 1 of my favorite little stories in the old testament. It's a story I've never preached and I've always wanted to. I'm not going to really preach it tonight, but it is a terrific story. And it's from the book of Samuel references up on the screen. 1 Samuel chapter 14.

It's on page 283 in the church Bible. Now it's a story that goes back to the days of saul, the first king of Israel. And Saul has just come to the throne and he's got stuck in straight away to running a military campaign against the arch enemies of the Israelites, the Philistines. Says taking on the Philistines. And due to the success of that campaign, despite Saul's disobedience, by the way, The Philistines cook up an interesting scheme you can read about it in the previous chapter.

What they do is they know that the Israelites are, you know, starting to gear up try and annihilate them. So they they must somehow go into the land of Israel and send like the mafia in and kill every Blacksmith. That's the plan. So they hunt down all the blacksmiths in Israel. That's what we're told in in chapter 13, and they rid the land of anyone who can do metal work because they're saying, and it's actually quoted there in in chapter 13.

Otherwise, the Hebrews will make swords and spears, and that's something we certainly don't want them doing. So you've got this strange situation, start of a military campaign, no equipment. So the Israelites have to resort to using farm implements. And we read that they actually take their farm implements down to the land of the Philistines and get them sharpened and make, could you just put a really keen edge on that? Because I'm gonna be coming back with this.

Get a really sharp scythe. So Saul's army now only about 600 men were told. Woefully understaffed, woefully ill equipped for the job ahead of them. And at the end of chapter 13, we're actually told, if you look, Only saul and Jonathan have swords and spears. So we started a military campaign with 2 swords and 2 spears at best.

I mean, it's just a joke, isn't it? This, however, does not dampen the spirits of young Jonathan. And it's Jonathan I want to tell you the story about. It's great. Have a look at chapter 14 verse 1.

1 day, Jonathan's son of Saul said to his young armor bearer. Come. Let's go to the Philistine outpost on the other side. But he did not tell his father. Saw was staying on the outskirts of Gabbir under a pomegranate tree in Migron, And with him, were about 600 men, among whom was a hygea, who was wearing an ephod.

That's interesting. He was the son of Iqabod's brother Ahitub, son of Fineas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in shiloh. No 1 was aware that Jonathan had left. On each side of the past that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff. Can you picture it?

Yeah. Cliff both sides. 1 was called Bozez and the other Seneh. 1 cliff stood to the north towards Mittmash, the other to the south towards Gebber. Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, come.

Let's go to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the lord from saving, whether by many or by few. What do all that you have in mind, his armor bearer said, Go ahead. I'm with you heart and soul.

Jonathan said, well, come on then. We will cross over towards them and let them see us. If they say to us, wait there until we come to you. Well, we will stay where we are and we will not go up to them. But If they say come up to us, we were, we we will climb up because that will be the sign that the lord has given them into our hands.

So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. Look, said the Philistines. At the Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they've been hiding in. The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor bearer Come up to us. We'll teach you a lesson.

So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, climb up after me. The Lord's given them into the hand of Israel. Jonathan climbed up using his hands and feet with his armor bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack, Jonathan and his armor bearer killed some 20 men in an area of about half an acre.

I said, you can't make this stuff up, can you? It's just brilliant. Jonathan has this wonderful, simple faith, doesn't he? It's actually like a shadow of what's gonna come a couple of chapters later with David, isn't it? Whether by many or by few after Lord's gonna save the Lordal set.

His attitude is 1 of, hey, let's just have a crack at it. You know, I'm getting bored here. Who knows perhaps the lord will act and listen, nothing can stop the lord when he acts. It's the faith of Jonathan, isn't it? Doesn't matter how many of us or how few there are of us Nothing can stop the lord.

If the lord decides to act, you know, we're we're gonna if they say come, he decides, we'll see it as a sign that god said to us to just go and do it. Yeah. So they show themselves. Come up or teach you a lesson, say the Philistines. But Jonathan doesn't hear that.

He hears the Lord's given us to you and up he goes scrabbling up hand and foot up the cliff. And Jonathan, it seems I don't know how it reads there in your version, but it does sound a little bit like all that's happening there is Jonathan's basically decking them and the bloke behind him is just sticking a spear in. It's like, bosh and and they just work their way through 20 men over half an acre. It's fascinating, isn't it? Now, what did I learn from this story?

See, from day 1, this lesson was driven home to me or at Cornerstone Church. I was not when I arrived used to the pace at which Phil and Pete could make things happen It was amazing. They would literally suggest an idea for an event that had just sort of cropped up on Monday morning and we would be doing it by the following weekend. Now, maybe they don't know this, but most other churches don't work at that speed. Takes a while for the cogs to turn.

Now there's such a thing as being too hasty, of course, but that is not usually the problem that churches have. Is it? When an opportunity presents itself, sometimes you just have to seize it. You have to look at on the lookout for those little opportunities to go for them because who knows? Maybe the lord will act.

And if the lord acts, Nothing can hinder the lord from saving whether by many or by few. Those are the words of Jonathan, aren't they? Now those have been great lessons, and those 3 things have stood out to me during my time at Cornerstone Church. A strong emphasis on training, raising the next generation who will guard the gospel deposit and herald it to those who come after them, who will herald it to those who come after them, just wanting to train for that. Second thing, a belief in the economy of god's king that we labor, and that's really all we're supposed to do, labor.

Get laboring and god gives the growth. Don't worry about the growth. Get laboring. Thirdly, the will to seize opportunities and to trust god to save, whether by many or by few, to try big things, bold things, crazy things. A cornerstone, please don't lose those things.

I I wanna take those things with me. And what is it that underpins them all? Did you see it? I'll tell you what it is. It's the conviction that god rules that our god is a sovereign god.

He's a god who orders history. He's the god who sets the course of things, determines the outcomes. Of every life. It's a conviction of that, isn't it? A god who knows the beginning from the end, and a god who therefore it is worth risking it all.

In service of. And my prayer is not just that you continue in those convictions. But that they will be the convictions of my ministry as I move on. And let me pray for us. Father we thank you for establishing and growing this little piece of your kingdom, this little church here in Kingston.

We ask that you would help us every 1 of us to have an unwavering trust in you. To have a restless itch to get laboring in your harvest field in the days that remain ahead us. And we ask all of this, all and only for the glory of our precious, peerless, wonderful lord Jesus Christ. Hey, man.